Olympia Dukakis makes good on her desire to evoke the weakness the indomitable Mother Courage fights so hard to cover up: the actress conveys the highs and lows of this gargantuan character with enormous power.
Review
Fuse Album Review: Mark Dresser’s “Nourishments” — Music Tough and Pretty, Smart and Fun
Nourishments is an emphatic musical statement from a seasoned bandleader, returning to the front of a traditional quintet.
Book Review: “The Amazing Bud Powell” — A Disappointing Study of a Jazz Legend
Ramsey’s book on Bud Powell is both a provocative read and a disappointing one. Anyone thinking this will be an illuminating portrait of a jazz master is likely to suffer a serious case of buyer’s remorse.
Film Review: Paul Schrader’s “The Canyons” — Roasting in Hell for Eternity is a Given.
The bubbling-over sexuality of Paul Schrader’s The Canyons is surely tongue-in-cheek, amusing in its semen-splashed excessiveness.
Book Review: “The Hanging Garden” — A Posthumous Gift from a Literary Giant
This novella is a gift to all of us who love Patrick White’s strangely alive prose and a welcome addition to his oeuvre. And for those who don’t know his work, it is a terrific way to be introduced to one of the 20th century’s finest writers.
Book Review: “Reading Ḥayy Ibn-Yaqẓān” — Rewriting the History of Ideas
“Reading Ḥayy Ibn-Yaqẓān” is a mesmerizing study that will enchant anyone interested in interdisciplinary, cross-cultural explorations of the history of science that transform the way we look at the past and the present.
CD Review: Dream Pop Gets Serious — the Ambitious Reach of Candy Claws
The latest LP from the dream pop band Candy Claws turns out to be its most profound and impressive statement to date.
Fuse Theater Review: Titanic Theatre Company’s Satire “Why Torture Is Wrong” Treads Water
The Titanic Theatre Company production struggles with Christopher Durang’s superficial satire and manages to squeeze some laughs out of it.
Fuse Theater Review: “How We Got On” — Exhilarating Hip Hop
I am probably the last person anyone would see as a hip hop fan, but I walked out of the theater with a new appreciation for the music and the satisfaction of experiencing an old-fashioned coming-of-age story told in a refreshing new way.
Theater Review: CSC’s “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” — A Cuddly Pair of Rats
The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s production of “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” is spunky and engaging — but the play is spun in one direction, away from its weird edginess.